Being In The Right Place At The Right Time…

Jerry Jones is a hugely successful businessman and marketer; he has made the Dallas Cowboys into a money generator. Anyone who doubts his business acumen is either jealous or stupid. Jerry Jones has previously demonstrated that all of that business acumen does not necessarily translate into the sort of smarts that it takes to be a successful GM in the NFL. In the last 20 years with Jones being the Cowboys roster builder, the team has been in the playoffs 6 times and has won 2 Wild Card games. That’s it…

Jerry Jones recently took a position that – taken literally – would put him in the company of those folks who continue to believe that Copernicus and Galileo were wrong and that the Earth is at the center of the universe. Basically, what he said is that there is no established link between playing football and incurring CTE. Had he not said it with such certainty and bombast, I would give him the benefit of the doubt and say that his remarks were “nuanced” in the sense that there is no widely agreed upon mechanism with regard to how a single blow to the head results in CTE or how individual blows to the head have an additive effect on the brain such that CTE is the result. Indeed, more research needs to be done to get to that state of understanding. Nonetheless, to say there is no link between CTE and football is more than a bit “retro”. Here is a part of Jones’ commentary;

“We don’t have that knowledge and background and scientifically, so there’s no way in the world to say you have a relationship relative to anything here. There’s no research. There’s no data . . . there’s no data that in any way creates a knowledge [of such a relationship]. There’s no way that you could have made a comment that there is an association and some type of assertion. In most things, you have to back it up by studies. And in this particular case, we all know how medicine is. Medicine is evolving. I grew up being told that aspirin was not good. I’m told that one a day is good for you.”

Speaking of Jerry Jones as GM of the Cowboys, I do think that the team made a good move signing free agent RB, Alfred Morris, earlier this week. Morris has been in the NFL 4 seasons and went over 1000 yards in the first 3. Last year, the Skins decided to split the RB duties between Morris and rookie, Matt Jones; playing a little more than half the time, Morris managed to gain 750 yards. The Cowboys need depth at the RB position; Darren McFadden is not likely to carry the ball 20 – 25 times a game for 16 games.

And speaking of free agent signings, the Eagles signed QB, Chase Daniel, to a 3-year deal worth $21M with $12M guaranteed. Nominally, his job is to be the backup QB to Sam Bradford and the biggest credential he brings to the table is that he “knows the system” since he had been with Coach Doug Pederson in KC for the last 3 years. Familiarity with the system is definitely a plus but so is on-field performance. So, let me summarize Chase Daniel’s on-field performance here relative to a 3-year contract with $12M guaranteed…

Daniel came into the NFL in 2010; he spent 3 years in New Orleans and then 3 years in KC. He has started 2 games in six seasons; his record as a starter is 1-1.

In six seasons he has thrown 77 passes and completed 50 of them – almost a 65% completion mark which is not bad at all. He has thrown 1 TD and 1 INT in six years. Ho-hum…

In 2015, Daniel had an interesting stat line. He threw 2 passes and completed both of them. The total yardage gained was 4 yards. By itself, that is not very impressive but it is even stranger when you notice that his longest completion was for 6 yards. One need not be an expert in advanced mathematics to figure out what happened on the completion that was not the “long gain for the season”.

Let me insert here one other “intangible” that Chase Daniel brings to the Eagles’ roster. His name is a complete sentence. Not too many other backup QBs can make that claim…

If reports about his contract with the Chiefs for the last 3 years are accurate, Chase Daniel made approximately $9M in those 3 seasons. Now he is guaranteed to make $12M more and possibly $21M more. Chase Daniel is an example of how one can succeed in a career by doing two things:

1. Be in the right place at the right time: NFL coaches now recognize the need for competent backup QBs on their rosters so this is the time to be a free agent career backup QB.

2. Do not be a pain-in-the-ass: Doug Pederson worked with chase Daniel for 3 seasons; if Daniel was a high-maintenance jerk, there is no way Pederson would bring him to Philly with him.

Now to bring the discussion full-circle, consider please that Cowboys’ GM, Jerry Jones, should also be concerned with the backup QB slot on his Cowboys team. Tony Romo will be 36 years old next month; he broke his collarbone twice last season; he has had spinal injuries in the past; he played in only 4 games last season. On the roster at the moment, the Cowboys show Romo as the starting QB – as he should be – with Kellen Moore and Jameill Showers as the backups. Lest I leave you with the impression that Chase Daniel’s on-field accomplishments are a bit thin, consider Moore and Showers:

Kellen Moore has been in the NFL 4 seasons. He appeared in 3 games and started 2 of them – losing both. For his career, he is 61 for 104 passing with 4 TDs and 6 INTs.

Jameill Showers has yet to see the field in an NFL game.

I am not suggesting that Jerry Jones go out and spend big time money on a backup QB, but it sure appears as if the Cowboys are thin at that position. Remember what happened to the Cowboys last year with Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassell as their starters…

Finally, since I mentioned the Cowboys’ signing a running back above, here is a comment from Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald regarding a former Cowboys’ RB:

“Former Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle has been arrested for the sixth time in 17 months. That ties the record held by Otis on ‘The Andy Griffith Show.’”

Ryan Fitzpatrick is probably negotiating his final lucrative contract in his NFL career and his performance last year says he should be looking for a significant payday. I do not think he merits a contract that guarantees him something like $50M over the next 4-5 years, but if the Jets offer is $7M per year, then the contract should be for 5 years with much of it guaranteed money…